1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates in general to surgical stands and, in particular, to an improved system, method and apparatus for a surgical stand.
2. Description of the Related Art
Operating room practices require the equipment used during procedures to remain in a sterile area. The sterile area is defined with respect to a standing person, such as from the vertical region of a scrub assistant from chest to waist. Newer surgical techniques require numerous complicated and potentially hazardous instruments that must be safely managed in the sterile area. For example, surgeons typically place arthroscopes, laparoscopes, lasers, and bovie electrocautery directly on patients during surgery. The light source for the arthroscope, the bovie, and oscillating saws are potential burn or cutting sources for the patient. Yet, these instruments must be placed directly on the patient because they have sterile cords that may be contaminated if placed on a remote back table and brought back and forth from that remote table to the patient's surgical wound where they are used.
In addition, such operating equipment has multiple electric cords and surgical suction tubing that must remain in the midline of the sterile field. The current practice to keep these cords and tubing from migrating peripherally (into non-sterile areas) is to use straps placed on the disposable sterile paper drapes that surround the operative site. With repetitive use during surgery, these cords and tubing may loosen from the straps, fall off the edges of the surgical drapes and contaminate the tubing and cords, as well as the downstream instruments that are being supplied power by the electrical cords. Thus, improvements in managing operating room equipment continue to be of interest.